"He indicated to me in clear, uncertain terms ... that he would be back in the state this weekend and intended to prepare a letter of immediate resignation and submit it to the governor," lawyer Robert Zaytoun said.

Another judge, W. Osmond Smith III, has set a July 26 hearing on whether to charge Nifong with criminal contempt.

A disciplinary committee of the North Carolina Bar voted this month to disbar Nifong. The panel found that he committed numerous ethical breaches in his investigation of a charge that three Duke University lacrosse players raped an exotic dancer hired for a team party.